Dragon Road

Dragon Road by Laurence Yep is 285 pages of a bumpy road called life. It was always Calvin of "Flash's" dream to play basketball with the big guys. When he gets his chance, he travels the west with the all Chinese team, the Dragons with Jack as the head coach. Bieng Chinese in this time also was an obstacle. Life wasn't always nice on the road, but it all worked out, and the team stuck together and rode the Dragon Road.

The Seer of Shadows (book review)

Do you believe in ghosts? Horace Carpentine didn't until he started to bring them to life in his photography in the 202 page The Seer of Shadows by Avi. Eleanora Von Macht passed away by torture from her parents, and has now come back to haunt them in New York City. Her living spirit becomes more vivid as Horace takes pictures in the Von Macht home and Eleanora's tomb. This science-fiction novel would appeal to children ages 9-12 who enjoy creepy and exciting novels.

I would definitely recommend this book to my fellow classmates. This book really kept me wanting to read on. Avi grabs the reader and keeps them intrigued with action. Avi tries to get the idea across that you should not do bad things because carma will catch up with you. Although I enjoyed it, at times the drama in the story covered up the main plot. For example, Horace at one point got very dramatic about a plan to carry out and I forgot what the plan was. Other than that, the novel had very few weak points.

This is a wonderful masterpiece by Avi. It was exciting, interesting, and kept me wanting to read on. I encourage my classmates to read The Seer of Shadows. I feel they will enjoy this sci-fy novel as much as I did.

Sea Glass

Sea Glass by Laurence Yep is a 248 page novel about a relationship between Craig and Dad and how they see the world differently. Craig and his mom and dad moved to Concepcion's Chinatown from San Francisco, and are an ordinary Chinese-American family. Craig is the new kid and is too Chinese at school, but too American for their home in Chinatown. His dad pushes Craig to be good at sports to be like the other kids and be a star like he was. Craig meets his old Uncle Quail and finds peace in Uncle's cove by the ocean at his home. Although Craig doesn't fit in at school, he makes one friend named Kenyon and she and Craig become friends. How will Craig cope with all that is going on? Read this wonderful book to find out.

The Tale of Depereaux

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo is a 269 page story of a small mouse, troublesome rat, a princess-want-to-be and how their stories all come together in the castle of the Kingdom of Dor. Despereaux was born a small mouse and the only living one of his litter. He does not do what other mice do, and falls in love with a human princess which is against the mice law. He is sent to the dungeon by the Mouse Council, where he meets the rat, Roscuro. Miggery Sow, also known as Mig, has always wanted to be a princess and moves to the castle. She and Roscuro take the Princess Pea to the dungeon so Mig can be princess when Despereaux saves his true love, the princess, from being stuck in the dungeon forever. This book is quite complicated to explain, but I recommend it to anyone.

My Side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George is 177 pages of an adventure that Sam takes in the Catskills. He ran away from a home with 8 brothers and sisters, and lived in an old tree that was what he called home. Along the way, he meets and somewhat saves a falcon that becomes his companion and hunter for food. This book is about his experience in the mountains that was his home for a few years of his life.